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The ''Glory of This Extensive Empire* 

— George Was.h.in%ion 



Read at the Luncheon of the 

Society of the Cincinnati 

in the 

State of New Jersey 

at its Annual Meeting held at Spring Lake, New Jersey, 
July 4, 1917 



BOUDINOT KEITH, ESQ. 
(An hereditary member) 



Easton, Pa.: 

EscHBNBACH Printing Co. 

1917 



i^ r^ ^ 



S77 

IVI 



The **Glory of This Extensive Empire" 



-Cit'orae \Vi!sliiii"t(>n 



I will venture to read to you a letter written by the Father 
of his Country, the original of which is in ni}^ possession. 

"Newburgh, May lo. 1783. 

Sir, 

Your letter of congratulation contains expressions of too 
friendly a nature not to afTect me with the greatest sensibility; 
I beg therefore you will accept my acknowledgements for 
them and that you will be persuaded I can never be insensible 
of the interest you are pleased to take in my personal happi- 
ness, as well as in the general felicity of our countr;y^ While I 
candidly confess I cannot be indifferent to the favorable sen- 
timents, which you mention, my fellow citizens entertain 
of my exertions in their service; I wish to express thro' you the 
particular obligations I feel myself under to Mr. Smith* for 
the pleasure I have received from the perusal of his elegant 
Ode on the Peace. 

The accomplishment of the great object we had in view, 
in so short a time, and under such propitious circumstances, 

*William Peartree Smith, A.M. (Yale 1742), Mr. Boudinot's father- 
in-law. He was one of the projectors and a charter member and trustee 
for many years of the College of New Jersey ; Mayor of the Town of Eliza- 
beth, 1765; member of the Essex County Committee of Correspondence; 
chairman of the Committee of Correspondence of New Jersey; member of 
the Convention to nominate delegates to the Continental Congress, 1774; 
member of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey, 1775; deputed (to- 
gether with Elias Boudinot) by the Provincial Congress to convey a 
written message to the Continental Congress; etc. 



must, I am oonfKk'iU, fill every bosom with the purest joy, 
and for my own part, I will not strive to conceal the j)leasure T 
already anticipate from my approaching retirenieiit to the 
placid walks of domestic life. 

Having no reward to ask for myself, if I have been so hapi:)y 
as to obtain the approbation of my countrymen, I shall be 
satisfied but it still rests with them to compleat my wishes, 
by adoi)ting such a system of- Policy, as will ensure the future 
reputation, tramiuility, happiness and Glory of this extensive 
Ivmpire; to which I am well assured, nothing can contribute 
so much, as an inviolable adherence to the principles of the Union, 
and a fixed Resolution of building the National faith on the basis 
of Public Justice -without which all that has been done and 
suiTered is in vain- -to effect which, therefore, the abilities of 
ever}' true Patriot ought to be exerted with the greatest zeal 
and assiduity. 

I am as yet uncertain, at which time I shall be at liberty to 
return to Virginia and consequently cannot inform you whether 
I may be able to gratify my inclination of spending a little 
time with my friends in Jersey, as I pass through that vState — 
I can only say that the friendship I have for a People from 
whom I have often derived such essential aid will strongly 
dispose me to it. 

Mrs. Washington begs Mrs. Boudinot and yourself will 
accept her best comp*** and thanks for your good wishes, 
and I nuist request the same favor, being with sentiments of 
esteem and regard, 
Sir 
\" most obed' & most H*'''^ vServant 
C»° Washington. 
Hlisha Houiiiiiot Ivsti*^*^" 

The Society of the Cincinnati was founded tluvc days after 
this letter was written, with Charity, Patriotism and Friend- 
ship as its su])p(jrting pillars; and we are here to-day to attest 
that we expect and intend to transmit the Order tt) our suc- 
cessors with its principles unimpaired. 

By reason of the rules governing its membership, our Society 
is necessarily compf)sed almost entirely of men well past middle 



life, so that it coni])rises a group of "Ivkler Statesmen," a corps 
d'elite of patriotism in whom the traditions and teachings 
of the revohitionary epoch are bred in the bone. vSuch a body 
must in the nature of things be well fitted to gauge the conduct 
of our national affairs in the great events transpiring. 

Many of us were impatient with the extreme patience dis- 
played by our government before drawing the sword. Let 
us not forget, however; that our ancestors suffered for manv 
long years, grievous wrongs at the hands of a monarch German 
by birth and characteristics, abetted by a short-sighted and 
subservient ministry before they appealed to the ultima ratio; 
and that even then, in spite of the manifest justice of their 
cause and the years of reasoned agitation in its defense, our 
forefathers were wholly unable to convince and carry with them 
into the conflict a very considerable body of influential citi- 
zens. 

In this latter day, we have a vast and heterogeneous popu- 
lation which had experienced the full effects of a crafty and 
subtle propaganda. American pacifists, alien enemy pre 
tended-pacifists, Fenian and Clan-na-Gael anglophobes, and 
native germanophiles all worked tooth and nail to befog the 
issues and make the worse appear the better reason. 

Nevertheless, as, one by one, the particular pacifist fallacy 
involving submission to foreign aggression reared its head, it was 
firmly and successfully throttled, and thus slowly but surely the 
patriotic masses were brought to a better appreciation of the vital 
issues involved and to a firmer resolve to maintain their rights. 
Finally, every hostile effort at home, in and out of Congress, 
having been defeated, our great President, by addressing com- 
munications to both groups of belligerents, the purpose of which 
was misconceived at the time and the astute statesmanship of 
which is only beginning to be recognized, succeeded in placing 
upon the record for the whole world to note the fact that 
Germany was unwilling to disclose any part of what she would 
claim should she be victorious, whereas the Allies disavowed 
all desire for conquest and announced their purpose to exact 
only adequate guarantees against future aggression. The 
demonstration was convincing; so that when shortly the in- 



cvitablc break came, we were able to present a united front, 
keen to redress our individual wrongs, but also with entire 
understanding of the identity of our cause with that of our 
allies and glad to throw the weight of our sword into the bal- 
ance with theirs in the struggle to safeguard the future path- 
way of civilization. 

We have passed the Rubicon. The outlook for the speedy 
success of our arms and the immediate fruition of our hopes is 
none too bright. Before they are achieved, we, too, shall 
doubtless be called upon to bear very heaxn*' burdens ; the blood 
of our vers' best may flow and many loving hearts break in 
quiet homes. It is so hard for those who are left to realize, 
in the face of grim actuality, that it is indeed sweet and fitting 
to die for one's country! None the less we face the future 
bravely; content, whate'er the personal loss if thereby we 
ensure our countr>^'s gain. So, at last, in spite of the turmoil 
and confusion of modern life and the engrossing struggle for 
material wealth, it is evident that the heart of the nation 
remains sound and our people have not lost their vision. Many 
noble voices have been raised proclaiming our duty in clear 
and convincing accents. The wise and venerable Hliot, who 
long since discerned that our place was with the Allies fighting 
against barbarism; the beloved and distinguished Choate, 
"the first citizen of New York," devoting his last days to the 
cause of his country- with fairly youthful enthusiasm; the 
patriot statesman Root, frowning down the disintegrating 
and impractical suggestion that the President should be urged 
to disband his cabinet and remodel it on foreign and novel 
lines. Men like these of whom, thank God, there are many, 
fortify our faith in on/ essential integrity and national 
health. 

If any had (|uestioned the soundness of our younger gen- 
eration they had only to look to I'rance, where a gi)odh- lunnlxr 
of the best we had (among them X'ictor, son of my old and good 
friend John Jay Chapman) showed that we too have our young 
Lafayettes "preventing" the national flag, but, alas, laving 
down their lives for the cause they had made their own. Not 
reluctantly did they make the sacrifice of greatest love, Init 



willingly, gladly. As one of themselves, the young poet 
Seeger, wrote, not many days befon^ his death : 

"Nay, rather France, to you they rendered thanks, 
"(Seeing they came for honor not for gain), 
"Who, opening to them your glorious ranks, 
"Gave them that grand occasion to excel, 
"That chance to live the life most free from slain 
"And that rare privilege of dying well." 



And as the lilies of France followed Lafayette, so have our 
stars followed our young heroes into a foreign land to expel 
the ruthless invader. Yes, Brethren, our army with the gal- 
lant Pershing at its head is in glorious, heroic, immortal France ! 
Does it not thrill your soul to know that the time is at hand 
when we shall repay the debt which we for so many years have 
been proud to owe ? And did not your heart throb to read that 
yesterday, as a battalion which had been sent to Paris to 
celebrate our national birthday marched along the boulevard, 
"the Americans were greatly surprised to see a number of chil- 
dren, orphans from a nearby institution, kneel in the street as 
our flag was carried by?" 

The brave, modest hero of the Marne told us that France 
needed our help and needed it soon. How happy we to have 
been able so speedily to respond with that advance guard of 
splendid and seasoned regulars as earnest of the promise 
"we are coming, Papa Joffre, five hundred thousand strong!" 
Those live hundred thousand will be followed by other five 
hundred thousand, and they by just as many more as may be 
needed, as fine and fit as any fighting men that ever stepped 
on the earth and as brave as those who preceded them in the 
field and in the air or drove ambulances in the danger zone. 

To sum up from only a few of the vast accumulation of con- 
vincing proofs, I think I may say that we Brothers of the Cin- 
cinnati believe that if the spirits of the departed take account 
of the things of the earth, then the souls of the Great Wash- 
ington and of the noble Lafayette approve the record of the 
last eventful months. 



We need not fear that those whom we have sent to effec- 
tuate our stern resolve will not acquit them as befits their cause 
and their country. Let our prayers, our hopes triumphant 
o'er our fears go with them, and let us steel ourselves to 
suffer any loss and endure any hardship in order to insure 
liberty for our posterity. Thus when we gather here again, 
at some, let us hope, not distant day, we shall find our 
fondest aspirations realized: 

"Peace on earth to men of good will." 



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